If so, I hereby thank the juju gods for crushing our souls on the early side this October, rather than waiting for the Dodgers to lower the boom. If it's gonna happen, cap'n - that is, if we're gonna pee the Posturpedic - let it be now. Bring it on.
And please... no more like last night.
Seriously. So much for the idea of an easy and enjoyable ALCS. So much for the notion that the 2024 Yankees are or were a team of destiny. So much for - oh, fukkit - for everything. Last night killed hope.
Does anybody here not expect Cleveland to roll us in six?
I mean, how do you come back from a loss like that...?
Nope. I've seen a lotta shit, and I know when the juju gods have a big toe on the scale. Last night wasn't a cheap, forgettable loss. It was an existential demolition derby - a massive, cruel bait and switch. Every time you accepted defeat -a 3-1 loss wouldn't have crushed us - every time you accepted the outcome, the Fates flipped a card and fucked with us, assured us we'd win, and then - kaboom - the Babadook.
I will go to my grave reliving that game. And believe me, the pain larder over the last 20 years is already full.
But one moment, in particular, stands out.
Sherman, set the Wayback to last night, around 8:20 p.m. It's the 9th inning, Yanks lead 4-3, and Cleveland just botched a tag on Anthony Volpe. We have runners on 2nd and 3rd, nobody out. Fortunately, we have Austin Wells to bat for Jose Trevino. The slumping rookie catcher has a chance for redemption, a chance to drive in an insurance run and further the rally. All he needs to do is hit the ball. Choke up. Bunt. Whatever. Just hit the fucking ball. Instead, Wells fans, swinging out of his shoes at a shoulder-high pitch. The Yankees only score one run, and we all know how that turns out, eh?
You know who Wells flashbacks me to? The 2003 world series against the Marlins. Game Four, Yankees leading 2 games to 1. It's the 11th inning, and we have the bases full, one out, and here comes Aaron Boone, the ALCS hero against Boston and future managerial lug nut. He's slumped this series, but here's his chance: All he needs to do is put the fucking bat on the fucking ball. Bunt. Choke up. Whatever. Of course, he strikes out, swinging. The Yankees don't score. Florida wins the game, evens the series, then rolls us in the final two nights.
They say we're still in the driver's seat against Cleveland. Yeah, right. I'm still on the couch, watching Boone strike out in 2003. That magic dust, which had transformed Luke Weaver into Mariano Rivera? It seems to have blown away. (Maybe too many five-out saves?) The Fates that guided grounders to our overwhelmed first-basemen, they have given bad bounces. We're actually putting our future into the hands of Luis Gil, who hasn't pitched since - gulp - September? And what happens if he cannot make it through the fifth?
What happens? Fuck if I know. But this has all happened before. And tonight we will know...
Ommmmmmm......
ReplyDeleteI still think the Yankees will win this series.
ReplyDeleteI just don't trust any AL Central team to get the job done.
The Guardians are sending out Gavin Williams to start tonight's game. He's 0-7 with a 6.55 ERA in 7 starts at home this year. I remain unimpressed with their roster.
Their supposed vaunted bullpen has looked lackluster to me. Emmanuel Clase and Hunter Gaddis were 1st and 3rd in reliever ERA this year, and Aaron Judge has taken both of them deep this series. Even though Judge hasn't looked particularly great himself. Their bullpen has allowed 9 runs in three games.
For every Yankee mistake we've seen, the Guardians have made two.
And neither team is hitting with RISP:
NYY 3-25
CLE 4-26
Momentum is as good as the next day's starter. And I don't see anyone in the Cleveland rotation we should be worried about.
Yankees in 6.
Agree over in my direction, I think that their bullpen is cooked.
DeleteAfter Judge and Stanton hit it out, I was dancing with the stars. Then came the crusher. It was only a matter of time when the bullpen reverted to norm, especially Holmes. Woke up this morning feeling hollow inside and hopeless. I will watch again tonight, but life as I know it is over. It felt like the end of a long and painful year.
ReplyDeleteWe will definitely win the series and we definitely have the chance to win it all - Canyon of Heroes, shiny rings, champagne in the clubhouse. You name it. That being said, we also have the chance to get crushed. See, anything can happen. It's a crapshoot. Nothing really matters, so hold on to your ass and say goodbye. It's all good. It's all right there in front of us. AND, if we do win, remember this: we are married to Brian forever, through thick and thin, sickness and health, good and bad, herpes and crystal meth. We're stuck with him forever. Honestly, just getting to the Series ensures another7 to 10 years of Cash. He'll retire on his own terms and leave us with his own hand-picked intern. Hal will continue to make money. Brian will curate the memories and NOTHING WILL CHANGE. It was a nice run, folks.
ReplyDeleteThe real World Series is the NLCS, is it not?
ReplyDeleteWeaver looked fatigued to me in the 9th inning. Missing his spots notably, even before the home run.
ReplyDeleteI can't help but think back to Game 2, where Boone used Tim Hill for five outs in a 1-run game but was too scared to use any reliever but Weaver for the final three outs in a 4-run game.
Really? There was no one else on the roster to trust in a non-save situation?
Who knows how Weaver looks last night if he had back-to-back days off to recharge.
Zachary A - "Weaver for the final three outs in a 4-run game.
ReplyDeleteReally? There was no one else on the roster to trust in a non-save situation?"
This x100.
I don't know how this will turn out but, between Boone, "the stupid" that infects this team on the bases, and their total inability to hit with runners in scoring position and less than two outs, means that even if they win, they will be the worst Yankee team I have ever seen to make it that far.
I can't believe they made it this far.
I'm with Doug.
ReplyDeleteBoone is an idiot, and why did he keep Mayza on the postseason roster? He sucks. Hill is better. And we have nobody else? Nobody?
I remember this guy name of Marinara. The Yankees have earmarked him for a career minor leaguer at this point. Is he as bad or worse than Mayza? (Who I wish would go away simply because every time I see or hear his name, I hear a woman in Native American garb saying, "You call it Mayza.")
Boone channeling his inner Torre. Weaver's a little skinny guy, easily overused. I agree he looked tired last night.
ReplyDeleteWith Weaver, I couldn't decide if he'd lost the strike zone or if, given his fatigue, he was just avoiding the strike zone.
ReplyDeleteIs Hamilton available?
ReplyDeleteSomehow the team needs to pick itself off the floor. Bit how? Gil hasn’t pitched in weeks and was clobbered the last 2 times he pitched. And if we’re winning 4-3, who pitches the ninth? Maybe we should end this as quickly and painlessly as possible, take our participation trophy and go home.
ReplyDeleteI think Hamilton was used yesterday but got hurt on the mound.
ReplyDeleteRight. Is he available today? If not, Nestor? Or, gulp, Leiter?
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DeleteHamilton is supposed to get an MRI on his calf today. If he is taken off the roster then we "roll" with Leiter through the WS.
DeleteWell, it almost was a Yankee Classic...
ReplyDeleteWe've all said this...we were spoiled when Mo was here...he was the gold standard that NO ONE can equal...and you can say that to all those who think Emmanuel Clase is the best reliever in the game right now...
if you don't want to strain the bullpen...PUT MORE RUNS UP ON THE FUCKING BOARD...ya had your chances...
Hilarious—I was just reading Brian Cashman's opinion in Andy Martino's "The Yankee Way," about how one big reason why Joe Torre had to go was his insistence on overworking the few relievers he trusted.
ReplyDeleteHey, he wasn't wrong. Of course, as GM, Cashman might have also thought something like, "Hmm, maybe I'm not supplying Joe with enough trustworthy relievers."
But of course, that would have meant admitting that he, Cashman, was wrong about something. An obvious impossibility! So now we get Cashie's handpicked, hand-groomed, brain clone, Aaron Boone...doing the exact same thing. Hmm...MORE than coincidence???
EVERY manager over-uses his "circle of trust". And it's really a well tested idea to have as many as possible in that Circle. But Cashman cheaped out this year on the bullpen. He has three bullpen arms that collectively don't make six million a year. And nobody entering the season was a bullpen "stud".
DeleteNo comment until the pain subsides a bit more . . . . let me quote a Bit:
ReplyDeleteOmmmmmmm......
And don't worry: it will all be over soon. The Cleveland Guardians of Traffic could put Sudden Sam McDowell out there tonight—I mean the actual remains of Sudden Sam—and they are going to win. Then they will smack around Rodon on the road, then back to the Stadium for Flouncy's final flounce—maybe as a Yankee, period.
ReplyDelete"If it were done when 'tis done then 'twere well/ It were done quickly." We be done.
I have faith in the Guardrails. They'll find a way to lose, and we'll stumble into the World Series undeservedly. The Dodgers will kick our asses, unless the Mets pull off a miracle. But we'll a long way from 1969.
DeleteLet's get a little bit of optimism going here guys. How would you like to be an Indian fan with a cooked bullpen, crappy rotation, and a feeble lineup? Of course we have a team that throws runs away on the basepaths (all fckng year) and plays defense like a beer league softball team. Nothing to worry about!
ReplyDelete